One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1996–97
during its development phase in Operations DESERT STORM and
JOINT ENDEAVOR.
June 25: Terrorists bombed the Khobar Towers near King Abdul-Aziz Air Base
in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 USAF members and injuring some 300 other
Americans in the worst terrorist attack against American military personnel
since the bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in
1983. The Americans were participating in Operation SOUTHERN
WATCH to deter Iraqi aggression against Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. As a
result of the bombing, most USAF personnel in Saudi Arabia moved to
remoter and more easily defended sites in the desert.
September 2–3: As part of Operation DESERT STRIKE, the Air Force flew
B–52 Stratofortresses to the Middle East to launch 13 cruise missiles
against military targets in Iraq. This operation came in response to
Iraqi troops’ seizure of the city of Irbil, located in a zone protected by
the United States for Kurds in northern Iraq.
September 3: The 11th Reconnaissance Squadron began operating the
RQ–1B Predator, an unmanned aerial vehicle designed for aerial surveillance
and reconnaissance, over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
September 15: Operation PACIFIC HAVEN commenced. The Air Force airlifted
thousands of refugees driven from their homes in northern Iraq
to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, where they were processed for settlement
in the United States.
1997
January 1: Operation NORTHERN WATCH replaced Operation PROVIDE
COMFORT, enforcing a no-fly zone in northern Iraq above the 36th
parallel of latitude.
January 6: The Air Force commissioned Abdullah Hamza Al-Mubarek, its
first Muslim chaplain candidate.
January 31: This date marked the activation of the 31st Air Expeditionary
Wing—the first expeditionary wing in the Air Force. Such wings would
be available for rotational deployments worldwide.
February 17: The Air Force Reserve became a major command—the Air
Force Reserve Command—reflecting the growing integration of
Reserve and regular forces and the increasing role of the Reserve in
regular USAF operations.
February 18–March 3: In Operation ASSURED LIFT, the Air Force airlifted
African peacekeeping forces to Liberia to restore order after a civil war
there. Five C–130s of the 37th Airlift Squadron, 3d Air Expeditionary
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